for my homework i need to write two paragraphs. one on my characteristics and one on my personality. problem is she hasn't gone over sentence structure and things like that. all i really know is she wants me to use adjectives, and essere....i think. or was it avere...

shadowangel613 wrote:for my homework i need to write two paragraphs. one on my characteristics and one on my personality. problem is she hasn't gone over sentence structure and things like that. all i really know is she wants me to use adjectives, and essere....i think. or was it avere...

Hi Alicia

I believe your teacher would like you to use the verbs ESSERE and AVERE for your homework.

Essere is used to indicate more permanent aspects of people or things, such as -

'Ha' could be used for either he or she, so in order to specify who has is lucky, usually the person should be referred)

Abbiamo una bella casa. (We have a beautiful house)

Loro hanno una macchina. (They have a car)

Avere is used in many idiomatic expressions (espressioni idiomatiche) that indicate people's feelings or convey physical sensations. They are formed with avere + noun. The equivalent English expressions are generally formed with to be + adjective. Here are a few common ones:
avere fame to be hungry
avere sete to be thirsty
avere sonno to be sleepy
avere caldo to be warm (hot)
avere freddo to be cold
avere fretta to be in a hurry
avere paura to be afraid
avere bisogno di to need, have need of
avere voglia di to want, to feel like

1. Certain common descriptive adjectives such as
bello, buono, nuovo , piccolo, ordinarily precede the
noun the modify. When the follow the noun, it is
usually for emphasis or contrast.
Ex: Abito in una piccola villa fuori Milano.
I live in a small villa outside of Milano.

** Using these adjectives after the noun tend to
emphasize the meaning of the adjective: Una nuova
macchina : means that the car is new to the speaker,
but not necessarily new. Una macchina nuova: means
that the car is brand new.

A list of some common descriptive adjectives that
generally PRECEDE the noun.

I would say that it is reasonably safe to place the adjective after the noun, like "la casa nera, la felpa blu," but you can say either "una donna bella" or "una bella donna" or, "un grande regalo" or "un regalo grande"
without changing the meaning and without sounding "strange" or "odd" if you are talking to an Italian/ Native Italian Speaker. If you have some doubts, place the adjective after the noun.